TOMORROW IS not only the day on which the presidential election takes place - or, as looks virtually certain, the presidential re-election - it is also the day a new EP comes out, named after a former Irish president.

Now I know that all of us are becoming absolutely bored and worn out with all of the Brexit talk, and yet it is so important to each and every citizen in this country. If satisfactorily concluded, it will enable us all to continue on a decent economic path. If it is not satisfactorily concluded, well then everything goes awry in the business world and with that then goes the living standards of this country, north and south. It is extremely important.

“HOLDING HER first grandchild in her arms in 2003, Mary Robinson was struck by the uncertainty of the world he had been born into. Before his fiftieth birthday, he would have to share the planet with more than nine billion people - people battling for food, water and shelter in an increasing volatile climate. The faceless shadowy menace of climate change had become, in an instant, deeply personal.”

Sinn Féin’s presidential candidate Liadh Ní Riada was in Galway last Friday as her campaign kicked off in earnest and she took time to sit down with me and chat about the race for the Áras and the issues that drive her political vision.

On August 28, the St Vincent de Paul reported a 20 per cent increase in calls for “back to school help”. The same day, the man presiding over the housing crisis, Minister Eoghan Murphy, announced the election date for the most lucrative Irish political post - the presidency - with a salary of €325,507 plus untold expenses.

The Mayo Schools' Debating Competition, organised by Mayo Association Dublin, sponsored by MAYO.ie and in association with Bank of Ireland, held its Grand Final in Trinity College Dublin on Saturday last. The motion for debate was "That this house is against independence for Catalonia’, which produced a lively debate, with speeches of exceptional ability on both sides.

Mayo Association Dublin has announced the launch of the inaugural Mayo Association Dublin Schools’ Debating Competition this year for senior cycle students in Mayo, sponsored by MAYO.IE and in association with Bank of Ireland, Mayo.